As we move toward a Federal election I will post comparisons of some key policy areas held by Labor, the Coalition and the Greens. In this post I look at refugee policy. The world faces a global refugee crisis. Over 15 million people have been forced to flee their country due to a well-founded fear...
Welcome to Australia…Not
How would you expect Australia to treat someone who has fled from a dictatorial, violent regime? They have seen loved ones murdered and realised that their only hope is to leave their place of birth, their home, the place all their hopes and dreams have centred on, their family, their friends...
The Chart That Will Change Your Mind on Refugees
Here’s the chart that might change your mind about refugees and our national refugee policy. Despite all the huffing and puffing from our pollies there is no emergency, no crisis in which we are being overrun by refugees. The simple fact is that we have long welcomed refugees at levels...
Just When You Think Asylum Seeker Policy Can’t Get Any Worse
Yesterday the Federal Parliament passed legislation to ‘excise’ the Australian mainland as a migration zone. This means asylum seekers arriving by boat will be denied the right to asylum in Australia. They will not be eligible to apply for any visa and will be subject to the ‘no...
Asylum Seeker Policy. The Speech I Wish the PM Made
My fellow Australians, The last hundred years have witnessed the spread of freedom. We Australians joined the fight against the violent ideology of Nazi Germany. We stood shoulder to shoulder with our allies to conquer the unfreedoms of Communism. We have joined the global resistance to the...
My Response to the Expert Panel’s Report on Asylum Seekers
Yesterday the expert panel set up by the Government released its report on how to prevent deaths of asylum seekers on their way to Australia by boat. The Government is now rushing to pass the recommendations into law. The report recognises that the only lasting solution is cooperation among nations...
5 Things We Need To Know About Asylum Seekers and Refugees
With Parliament set to resume debate on asylum seekers it is worthwhile reminding ourselves of some simple facts. These are drawn from an August 2011 report by the Centre for Policy Development titled A New Approach. Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees and Asylum Seekers. One of the authors, John...
How to stop the boats without trampling on human rights
A year or so ago I met a group of Burmese refugees living a shadowy existence in Malaysia. I was in Kuala Lumpur for a conference, staying in a large and luxurious hotel suite that was ridiculously cheap. My refugee friends were also living in Kuala Lumpur. They rented a spartan apartment in a...